Figure 1.

Ascorbate levels in normal tissue are not associated with ascorbate levels in tumors from endometrial and colorectal cancer patients. Tissue samples from patients with endometrial (n = 50) and colorectal cancer (n = 50) were processed, and ascorbate levels (nanomoles per microgram DNA) were measured using HPLC-EC [data from Ref. (17, 18)]. From each patient, samples were obtained from tumor and adjacent normal tissue. There was no association between ascorbate content in tumor vs. normal tissue in individual patients with endometrial or colorectal cancer (Pearson correlation: R² = 0.001, p = 0.81, and R² = 0.022, p = 0.30, respectively). Hence, whole body ascorbate status may not predict tumor ascorbate status.